The Secret Garden of Score: Week of Enthusiastic Reviews | culture

television

If you only watch one, do it…

Secret Garden

BBC One/iPlayer, available now

Summarize in a sentence Ahead of his 100th birthday, David Attenborough presents a fascinating series about his love of the wildlife of our British back gardens.
What our reviewer said “Although the animals are familiar old friends, the program tells the kind of exciting stories of predation, survival, mating and nesting that we are used to when Attenborough is in Africa or Asia.” Jack Seale

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Further reading ‘We didn’t want to be preachy’: David Attenborough’s unexpected new show – which may anger cat lovers

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Assembly

ITV1, out now

Summarize in a sentence Stephen Fry is the next celebrity to be quizzed by a group of young people with neurodivergence or learning difficulties – a liberating experience.
What our reviewer said “A budding theater actor named Luca wakes up and performs William Wordsworth’s The World Is Too Much with Us, setting it somewhere between a Shakespearean soliloquy and a dramatic spoken moment from the book of a musical. Television has rarely seen anything like it, and Fry has clearly never seen it before.” Jack Seale

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Covenants

Disney+, available now

Summarize in a sentence Don’t be fooled by the lighter tone of this sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale – life is still brutal and bloody for the women of Gilead.
What our reviewer said “It’s a JA version that still involves bloody punishments, rotting corpses swinging from the gallows, indoctrination and abuse – with the youth of the protagonists making it even more difficult to watch.” Lucy Mangan

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Maybe she was gone…

Bennett’s other sister

BBC/iPlayer, all episodes available

Summarize in a sentence Ella Bruccoleri stars in a new spin-off series, Pride & Prejudice, focusing on the overlooked story of the spirited Mary Bennet.
What our reviewer said “The increasing charm and heaviness – not to mention Broccolieri’s beautiful central performance – make it worth holding on to. Sorry, Marie – the thing worth holding on to.” Lucy Mangan

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Further reading A new Austen drama made me wonder: Is the fate of bookish young women so different today?

film

If you only watch one, do it…

Strange

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence François Ozon’s adaptation of L’Etranger is faithful to the original text while offering a contemporary perspective on its themes of empire and race.
What our reviewer said “François Ozon’s beautiful, mesmerizing monochrome version of Albert Camus’s novella has an preternaturally detailed sense of period and place – a sentimental act of ancestor worship in homage to a famous French work of art.” Peter Bradshaw

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Further reading Let’s get metaphysical! Existential cinema is back, if anyone cares

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Father mother sister brother

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence Jim Jarmusch explores parents’ awkwardness and closeness with their adult children in three comedy-dramas set in the United States, Dublin and Paris.
What our reviewer said “Basically, there is a contentment and calm here, an acceptance and Zen simplicity that represents a purification of the cinematic palate, or perhaps the palate that consumes imagination in general. It is a film to be savored.” Peter Bradshaw

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stand by me

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence A 40th anniversary reissue of the coming-of-age drama about four boys on a quest to see a corpse, directed by Rob Reiner and adapted from the Stephen King short story.
What our reviewer said “The resulting adventure—strange, mysterious, and poignant—is about lost youth and the reclaiming of innocence through writing and memory. It’s also one of those rare fade-in films where the child actors have to bear almost the entire drama.” Peter Bradshaw

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California chart

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence James McAvoy’s directorial debut is an unexpected take on the true story of two Scottish rappers pretending to be Americans.
What our reviewer said “The sheer strangeness of the story grabs our attention, with all the excitement of the con game brilliantly pulled out, and of course the stress of its inevitable disintegration.” Richard Lawson

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Further reading James McAvoy: I was “that Scottish guy” who turned into the noise coming out of my mouth

Streaming now

outcome

Apple TV

Summarize in a sentence Jonah Hill writes and directs a satirical, insider-filled story about a suave star actor (Keanu Reeves) who hides his drug addiction.
What our reviewer said “The performances are tirelessly entertaining: Laverne Cox as the women’s rights lawyer, Drew Barrymore as her, and Martin Scorsese, poignantly, as the talent manager.” Cath Clarke

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books

If you only read one, do it.

The Fall of London by Patrick Radden Cave

Reviewed by Ian Thompson